Inksoul
by lisa602
Summary: Chrysalis Young is just ending her freshman in high school when she suddenly has terrible coughing fits that lead to something no one expects, her own planned death. She is saved by a man named Orpheus and a woman named Riana, and Chrysalis is the answer to stopping other deaths such as hers, likely stopping the ability to read words to life ever again.
1. Chapter 1

Her coughs were getting worse, she wondered if they would ever go away. When her parents brought her to the doctor's office, no one knew what her problem was. They'd given her all of the medications they could think of, yet her coughs just wouldn't give up on her.

Chrysalis Young was a fifteen year old girl who had blonde hair her parents kept ear length. She was a shy but sneaky person, having learned from playing spy games by herself when she was very little. She became really good at it and stopped at around the age of ten for fear that someone would see her doing it and make fun of her.

For the past couple of months, she'd been coughing almost non-stop. Her parents kept taking her to school, but it felt so awkward to be coughing while everyone worked on something in silence. Coughing distracted her thoughts from the work at hand; they even kept her from doing the most difficult problems she was usually capable of solving.

Lying in bed, she wondered what everyone at school was thinking. That she was afraid to come back after the incident that had happened the day before? No. She hoped that they wouldn't.

When the coughing first started, she was on her way to school. It had only started with light coughs, so her parents thought that it was nothing. Once it started getting worse, then they started to worry excessively, twenty four hours a day seven days a week.

She heard a faint knock on the door that brought her from her thoughts. "Come in." she mumbled, wondering who it was, for it could be the doctor who would definitely be surprised by her loud voice had she used it. But it was her mother with dark brown hair, and blue eyes much like her own.

"How are you feeling Chrys?" her mother asked, deep worry nicely hidden in her eyes, but not by her own daughter. She remembered the first time her older brother called her Chrys as short for Chrysalis, but it wasn't as if her name was too long to say.

"I think my thoughts keep me from coughing." she said, starting a long coughing fit that brought tears to her eyes, wiping them away quickly.

Her mother bit her lower lip. "The doctor still doesn't know what your problem is; he thinks it's a new kind of disease. And," her mother faltered, "And your father thinks that, if we don't find a cure, you could…."

That pause made Chrys stiffen. What could happen to her that made her mother so worried? "What is it?" she asked.

"You have no idea the kind of fit your father is in right now," said her mother, almost sounding as if proud of whatever was happening, also as if she was avoiding the previous subject, "He started yelling at Dr. Finn. Asking why, if he was so smart, he couldn't even find a cure for you."

Had Chrys been a little younger, she would've smiled at this little story and said her father was like a robber trying to keep the people alive. But, now, she asked, "Was the doctor offended?"

"A little." her mother said with a smile.

Chrys wondered how that would've looked, for her doctor was a plump man with round glasses and blonde hair, it must've looked pretty awkward. She remembered when she was younger; she had wondered to herself how he could get around on his legs when doing surgeries. You had to be quick for some of those, she was sure, and he was as slow as a sloth.

She started coughing again, making sure to do it into her arm instead of her hands. She looked up at her mother who had worry etched in her expression. "I'm fine," Chrys said hoarsely, "I should probably take more cough medicine."

Her mother nodded and got up to go to the door into the hallway to get the cough syrup from the medicine cabinet.

"Uh, mom?" Chrys thought to ask before her mom left. Her mother turned around to face, "Do you think I could maybe go back to school tomorrow?"

Her mother hesitated, "We'll see how you feel." She left the room.

Chrys _hated_ missing school days, because it was very strict on school work and how many days you could be absent. She was afraid of how much she would get the next day; it was always fearsome to have heavy homework for she sometimes had to do it during lunch because she had no time at home.

"Dan," she heard her mother call, "Where is Chrys' cough syrup?"

"She used it all." said her father, on his way up the stairs.

"Really? Oh, that's just fantastic Dan!" her mother yelled out sarcastically.

"Christina, it's not my fault she's had to use so many bottles of cough syrup that don't work. It's the doctor's fault. No cure for it indeed? Why can't he quit being a doctor and just become a hermit?" her father said angrily.

"Dan, I wish you would stop being so rude about the people you get angry with." her mother said exasperatedly.

"Like they do any different." he muttered.

"Stop that! Do it anymore and it could wear off on Chrys just like it did on Jacob."

Chrys wondered how she would get that if she hardly talked to people, she wouldn't even do it with the neighbors for that matter. She was pretty sure that she wouldn't catch it. Then again, which of her parents were quiet when they were younger? She wasn't sure.

She certainly remembered when her older brother Jacob caught the anger from dad, he'd been around him often enough to almost be the same person. Meanwhile, Chrys stayed away from her father and did things to herself. They didn't normally do family time, so Chrys dreaded it, because the more time she spent to herself the more she didn't want to spend time with anyone.

Ever since she got her coughs, she had been spending a lot of time with her parents at home over the weekend. This had been the one time she stayed home because she was sick, and it wasn't enjoyable.

If she had any free time off from school, she would spend her time at the library to learn new things. She spent whole days in the library, and she would learn new languages and speak them with no difficulty.

"So, when the doctor told me to get out of the room when you two were having a conversation, what did he say? It seemed serious and I sure hope it's nothing that we shouldn't tell Chrys." her mother whispered. It was times like these when Chrys valued her good hearing.

"Well, then you won't like what he has to say." her father said, sorrow in his voice. They left the hallway and went downstairs.


	2. Chapter 2

Chrys stopped breathing when she heard what her dad was saying out in the hallway. It seemed very serious, and she wasn't sure of what it was. Could it be that there was no sort of cough medicine that would work for her and she'd just have to work through it? She had gone through so much cough medicine that it was hard to count how much they'd given her.

She breathed out once they left to go downstairs, wondering what it is that could be so wrong that they would probably keep it from her.

The next morning, Chrys woke up with a stuffed nose. She reached over to her side-table to grab a tissue and took out one. She'd wanted to take out more, but it was all out. "Curse it." she muttered. She got up and walked down the hallway, everything around her seemed to spin. Then everything went black.

When Chrys woke up again, at first she only saw white. Once her eyes became adjusted, she realized she was in the hospital. She was wearing a white nightgown; hospital clothing. She noticed that she wasn't breathing on her own, but there was something in her nostrils giving air to her, now that she noticed it, she pulled it off and breathed herself. It felt like much more of a relief than having something just putting air into her.

"Miss?" a nurse came in the doorway, watching her. She was a Hispanic woman in her early thirties with a sturdy build and long black hair. "We just put that on, I think you should put it back. I don't know how you woke up right-"

"Sorry to interrupt," Chrys said timidly, pointing to the air tube, "But this does not work for my breathing."

The nurse was clearly confused by this. She said, "Well, that's strange. It should help you breathe, not make it difficult."

"Not working, then." Chrys said, rubbing her nose as it started itching. Then her coughing started up again, when it stopped, she looked up to find the nurse at her side. "Why am I here?"

"No one knows, your parents said they heard a thud and ran up to your room. They saw you on the ground a couple feet from your door, and you were coughing in your sleep so they though you weren't breathing."

"My breathing is fine," Chrys explained, "How many days have I missed?"

"Only today, your parents brought you in this morning. It's eight now."

"Oh no, I'm going to be late for school!" Chrys was about to jump out of bed when the nurse grabbed her shoulder and pushed her down.

"Your parents told me you would be worried, though I didn't think you would be excited about school." the nurse said, it seemed like she was trying to joke about it. It didn't lighten Chrys' mood though.

"I don't actually _like_ school, but if I miss too many days I'll get no credit in my classes. It's near the end of the school year and I can't let that happen." Chrys felt like she was having a heart attack because she was talking really fast and felt nervous.

"Calm _down_," the nurse said, "In this case you get an excused absence until we find out what's wrong with you."

"How are you going to find it?"

"We don't know. What we do know is that your parents told us they've unrolled you out of school. You are no longer a student in high school until maybe next year."

"_What_?" Chrys shrilled.

"Now hold on, hold on." said the nurse, trying to comfort her.

"I _need_ school. They can't seriously be taking me out because I'm sick." Chrys said to her in a panic.

All of a sudden, Dr. Finn came into Chrys' room in a panic. She looked at him in shock, why would he suddenly burst into her room like that?

"What is going on?" he asked her breathlessly.

"Nothing, your nurse was just telling me something." Chrys said, gesturing to her.

"What are you doing?" he asked with confusion. "Chrysalis, there was no one in here but you."

"No," she said, looking to where she was. And she was gone. "She was right here next to me, telling me what's going on."

"Really?" he asked with a chuckle. She'd never been alone in a room with him, and it really felt creepy. "Tell me what she told you since you're so talkative."

She felt very uncomfortable, wishing someone would come in and he would act normally again. "That my parents took me out of school."

He looked as if someone had just slapped him in the face. He quickly moved up to where Chrys was, leaning over her bed with enthusiasm. "What did this woman look like, Chrysalis? What were her features?"

"She was Hispanic." Chrys said simply, hoping that would do.

"Uh-huh?" he asked encouragingly.

She thought for a moment, and then remembered one thing of the woman she hadn't paid attention to before. "She had a limp."

He hurried off in a blaze of wind. She was pretty sure she had never seen him move so fast. Was she so sick that her mind messed up everything she looked at?

All she knew was something strange was going on, and she did _not_ want to be a part of it, however interesting it seemed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chrys looked at the wall, daydreaming that someone would take her somewhere far away in secret and give her the job of a spy. Skipping to parts where she led a team of people to sneak into someone's home to find evidence the person was a part of the crime the FBI was investigating.

Her daydreams were always the same story, because she felt that if she thought of it often, it might happen. Though she knew it wouldn't, because she was too shy to lead a bunch of people, and much less into danger.

"Chrys, dear?" that was her mother in the doorway. Chrys looked towards the door where her mother stood, and she was staring at her with confusion. "What is going on? The doctor said that you had a little problem this morning, but he wouldn't say what it was."

Chrys relieved herself of her coughing before saying, "There was a nurse in here this morning. She told me that you and dad pulled me out of school." Chrys looked back at the wall so she could disappear into her own little world.

"Who was she?" asked her mother angrily, sitting on the bed.

"Don't be angry," Chrys said, "_I_ should be because you can't just take me out of school like that."

"Never mind that. Who was she?"

"I don't know," Chrys said, "She never even told me her name."

Her mother sat on the seat next to the bed, Chrys looked at her. She didn't believe her! "You know," she said, holding Chrys' hand, "I think you were imagining her."

"Then how do I know what you did if no one else told me?" Chrys asked, looking back at her mother. "Have I ever made up stories before mom?" her mother shook her head. "Then believe me on this one. She was _here_."

"All right," her mother said defensively, "I believe you. I came here for another reason, though, not to ask you about some strange nurse."

"What is it?"

"The doctor said everyone here has been trying to find out what you have, but they have no idea. And, had you still been in school, we wouldn't be able to do what your father has planned for us now." she paused before she went on, making sure Chrys was paying attention. "The doctors are letting you come home tomorrow so that you can be ready to pack for this Friday."

Chrys remembered school was to end next week, but what would they pack for to go to if it was Tuesday at that moment. "Why would it take two days to pack for a little trip?" she asked curiously.

"You're father signed us up to be on a cruise ship for three months. It'll finish somewhere near the end of August."

"Wow, why the fanciness?" Chrys asked curiously.

"Oh, just to give all of us some fresh air and time together." her mother said, as if there was no problem going on. Chrys admired her ability to look care-free and happy when inside something must be terribly wrong. "Besides, it's a great opportunity, as he gets in for free for working on the ship as a janitor. We also get in for free, as he's allowed three family members to come in for free. We're bringing your brother."

"If dad's working, how do we get _any_ time together?" Chrys asked.

"He works at night, cleaning up anything that's been left behind by people, we get a whole day together." her mother looked so perky about this, Chrys felt bad that her mother thought she had to keep that happy mask around her.

"Is that the only option of a trip?" Chrys asked, she didn't actually want to go anywhere. All she wanted to finish her last week of school. Couldn't her parents have allowed her that?

"Why, yes. Unless you want to get a job on the ship as well?" her mother asked her, seemingly guessing, wishing, Chrys would object.

"Actually, that sounds very nice. It would give me something to do." Chrys said. Her parents had never let her get a job, wanting her to get used to high school before looking at part-time jobs. This was the one chance she could have it as an option from her mother, and she wouldn't be able to refuse because she wanted Chrys to have a fun last three months. She knew Chrys loved having something to do, even if it was chores.

Her mother's mouth went wide, "B-b-but, don't you want to go to the swimming pool or watch shows all day?"

"Oh no, mother, I'd rather be useful. You know I haven't even joined sports because those things aren't very useful to others." Chrys said, feeling pleased with herself.

Her mother bit her lip in frustration, Chrys pretended not to see. "All right, but I warn you, they want a person who is in good health."

"I'm in good health," she argued reasonably, "I'm only coughing. Nothing serious, am I correct?"

Her mother looked away from her, taking deep breaths. Chrys was wondering when her parents would tell her, whatever it was, whether now, later, or never. Her mother finally turned back to her, "Right, a cough isn't anything terrible."

Chrys won the conversation.

The night was long and Chrys got no sleep. How would she be able to get through the trip if she wasn't able to get a good night's rest? There's even a limit on staying awake long enough to the point where she might die earlier than the doctors expected.

What would her parents do if they knew she overheard what they'd learned about how bad her health was. For a cough, it was very serious. Could it be consumption? She'd read a romance novel where a lot of people got consumption. Except, they had difficulty breathing, she was completely fine there. Unless the air tube they put in her nose this morning was because she was breathing very shallowly. She may never know.

The one thing that Chrys knew is that she wouldn't be by the library she normally went to. If she didn't get a job on the ship, then she would sure hope that they have a library that she could hide from her parents in. Surrounded by books, she might just feel better about what's going on.

She could read William Shakespeare plays or books with unhappy endings, something to pull her from her thoughts. Maybe even ones with happy endings, maybe intermediate endings where the reader has to guess what will happen next. Just something she can lose herself in.

In her thoughts, she thought, maybe what she had was some strange tumor that made her cough really hard, and the doctors just weren't sure of where to look. That could be it, but where would it be?

Her thoughts weren't getting her anywhere, she need to sleep, but she couldn't.

It was a very bad day for her. How could her parents just take her out of school like that? It was only the second to last week of school, they could've given her the chance to finish before going on a cruise ship. How could they not consider that she'd want to finish school?

Chrys was awake for most of the night. She wished to herself that she wouldn't have to repeat her freshman year of high school, and how dreary it would be that that would keep her from going into a perfect college. What would she do…?


	4. Chapter 4

"What," Chrys asked, groggy after being shaken awake by her parents, "Why are you two wearing flowery shirts and sunglasses for packing?"

Her mother was wearing a purple shirt with white flowers and her father had on a green shirt with white flowers. You'd guess they were from Hawaii had they not been wearing jeans with it.

"We packed already, the doctors made you stay here. They noticed in the cameras that you didn't have a good Tuesday night sleep, every time we called in they said you were still asleep." her father said, very perky. But she could see the hint of sorrow behind his eyes when he said it. "It's Thursday now, and we'll be getting on the boat in a few hours."

"I've been asleep for two days?" she asked, shocked. It didn't seem like it was that long ago she'd been annoyed that she couldn't fall asleep. She'd slept way too long.

"It's not much of a worry," her mother assured her, "You wouldn't have had to pack with us if you were awake on Wednesday morning. We would've let you have some free time."

"Are you serious," Chrys asked disbelievingly, "You would let me sit off to the side while you did all the heavy duty work?"

"Of course, what else would we do?" her father asked.

"What you normally do when we go somewhere. I do a third of the work with you. I pack my own stuff while you pack yours, and I help with packing food in the coolers."

"Well, with you being in the hospital with terrible coughs, we thought we'd just go through it without you so you could get better. Don't you think?" her mother asked. Chrys knew how terribly they lied, because both smiled constantly and acted like nothing was wrong.

"No," Chrys said slowly, hoping to get them in her trap. "Last time I was sick, you still had me work and I've turned out just fine."

They faltered. She had them now.

"All right, what do you know?"

"That you two have been hiding something behind my back. I can tell it's something terrible, so tell me and get it over with."

"We'll tell you on the boat when we get settled in, because now, we have to go." Chrys' father said, pulling her out of bed and handing her fresh clothes.

As they quickly left the room, she'd noticed their shoulders sagged in relief when she didn't actually say that she knew what they did. Now she really wished that she was able to trick them into thinking she knew, though it was hard to do.

Looking at the clothes they'd given her, Chrys saw a flowery dress that went to her knees. "Seriously?" she asked aloud. She never thought they would do something like this for a vacation. "I wonder if they have matching clothes for the entire trip." The thought made her shiver.


	5. Chapter 5

"Chrys, dear, wake up." her mother called from somewhere far away.

Reluctantly, Chrys opened her eyes to find herself in another hospital room that was unlike the one she'd been in before. "Why am I still here?"

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, dear. This is the hospital on the boat. Don't you remember getting into the car so we could get to the boat?"

"Why didn't you wake me up so I could help you unpack everything?" she asked, looking out of the porthole by her bed. They had already set sail and were far away from any nearby land.

"When we got here, you were coughing in your sleep. While your parents unpacked, I brought you to the small hospital here." Dr. Finn came into the room, smiling at her.

Her insides made her want to shout out to the world to get him away from her. His smile chilled her bones, and their encounter earlier made her hope her mother would never leave her side.

"Excuse us, Mrs. Young, but I must give her medication and then let her rest for a while. I will call you here when she wakes up again." Dr. Finn said kindly.

"Yes, of course. Good-bye dear." her mother waved to her before leaving the room.

Dr. Finn went to the back room and came back with a needle. She braced herself for the injection and he came over. He placed it in her upper arm, and as she waited for him to be done, he said, "Have you told your parents anything about our encounter of the Hispanic woman two days ago?"

"I told them of the Hispanic woman." Chrys said, frightful.

"What of my excitement?"

"I said nothing of how you acted."

"Good. Now why don't you keep it that way and just take a nap right now?" he asked, taking the needle out and looking at her expectantly.

"Okay," she said, then falling into a deep sleep.

She woke up in a cold sweat, then coughing like crazy. How could her coughs have just gotten worse than before?

Standing up, Chrys went to find some water, so she walked out into the hallways. It was dark everywhere around her and she guessed that everyone was sleeping, so she did her best not to cough too loudly. It was hard, especially with her throat tickling her so she would cough and the fact that she had no idea where she was going.

Chrys was starting to feel woozy as she moved down the hall, but was determined to get herself some water before blacking out. She couldn't even tell where she was, it was so dark that she couldn't tell where anything was.

When she finally saw light, it was the moon. Her coughing was getting heavier as she walked along, and she heard the urgency of a bunch of people hurrying to her side. She saw them from far away. Night guards.

She wanted to say "help me" as she coughed with no let up. This made her think of pertussis except for the fact that she was already checked for it and it came back negative.

Chrys felt a hand push her, and she suddenly felt no ground, but that she was falling somewhere. She hoped for all this to be a dream. Looking up, she saw the outline of a person that suddenly vanished. Then the outline of a bunch of people looking at her as she finally splashed into cold water.


	6. Chapter 6

Chrys' spirit looked at the scene on the boat. All the guards were freaking out over the fact that a young girl had fallen overboard.

Within an hour, they found out that a teenage girl was missing from her hospital room and contacted her parents. They hurried to the deck where they said a girl with short blonde hair and a flowery dress had fallen off of the boat in a whirl of coughs. Then her doctor came aboard and they had to explain it to him as well.

"Dr. Finn, how could this have happened?"

"I don't know, I gave her a shot before she went to sleep. And, again, it was supposed to relieve her of her coughing, not make it worse. There is no way to understand her mystery." Chrys' ghost noticed no sort of sorrow was clinging to the doctor, he wasn't remorseful.

"Before we clear that up, is there any way to go down there and get her?" her father asked, his face and his wife's covered in tears.

"Even if we actually had scuba diving gear, it's probably too late to save her Mr. and Mrs. Young. We think she's drowned." the captain of the guards told them sorrowfully.

"We can't even get her body to have a proper funeral?" her mother asked in between sobs.

"No, I'm afraid you'll have to have one without her body." the captain said.

Dr. Finn walked away from the conversation, and Chrys' ghost unwillingly followed him to his office where he closed the door behind her. It was as if he knew she was right there with him.

"So," he said, facing her, making her realize he did know she was there, "Chrys, I'm so sorry for taking your life away. I truly am. I just wanted to show you that so you know that I needed to do this to you, knowing that your parents would take us on this boat for a vacation. I want you to haunt this boat for all eternity."

She looked at him with confusion, but he couldn't see her.

"Oh trust me, however long eternity is, that's how long this boat will live. And I want you for this so that people will still think of you. That's the reason all ghosts are still on this Earth when they die is so that they can make people realize that they need to be remembered."

"But," she tried to say. Nothing came out.

"Yeah, you can't talk as a ghost. Only meaningful words that have happened in your life will be able to be heard by human ears."

'What would that be?' she thought to herself.

Suddenly, what felt like a lasso fell around her waist, tightened so she couldn't get out, and pulled her. She didn't even try to resist, thinking that Dr. Finn wanted to bring her to some part of the ship so she could haunt there. She was wrong.

"No! Chrys, who's pulling you?"

She couldn't say anything and didn't want to try to protect herself anyways. As she was already dead, what terrible thing could actually happen to her besides going to the Devil?

The lasso then pulled harder, taking her quickly out of the Doctor's office and pulling her so fast that she couldn't see where she was being pulled to. It almost made her feel free from the doctor except for the fact that she didn't actually know what was taking her from him.

She finally noticed that she wasn't actually gliding over any sort of sceneries, but through a blank space. Then she wondered if she was being taken to heaven because she most certainly wasn't on the same planet earth.

When whatever it was finally stopped pulling, she saw she was taken into some snowy mountains. Not just her ghost, but her body as well, covered with a blanket. And a man was bending over her, wearing a coat. In his hands was the invisible lasso that had pulled Chrys from the boat and she looked at him in wonder.

He looked up at where her ghost was, the glasses he wore shining in the moonlight, and said, "Follow the pace of my lasso and walk slowly back into your body. Going too fast will make you cough even harder than before and it will be more difficult for me to cure you."

She did as she was told, walking as slowly as his lasso dared pull her. She went along with it, unsure of how slowly she would have to incline herself into lying on her back. When she was close enough, the man used his hands to slowly move her spirit into a position where she could fit into her body.

That's when everything came back to her as she woke up in her body. Falling into the water after something or someone pushed her overboard and losing all her air.

Her lungs hurt when she breathed in and she started coughing as hard as before.

"Drink this," she distinctively heard. Something came up against her lips and she drank what tasted terribly, but the man was determined to give it to her, so she couldn't do anything but drink it.

When nothing more came, she looked up at the man and said, "Thank you." She had stopped coughing thanks to his antidote, but she didn't think it would last long. She fell asleep with relief.


	7. Chapter 7

Chrys woke up feeling feverish, wondering for a moment where she was. She couldn't see anything, so she tried sitting up. Something pushed her back down, "Not yet," it said softly.

The male voice soothed Chrys back to her position in the soft bed she lay upon, and she wondered how long she'd been asleep. She was given the disgusting medicine again, but she was given less than before, and she realized she wasn't coughing.

"You need to go back to sleep. You'll be better when you wake up again."

"No, no more sleep.' Chrys said softly, weakly.

"Hush, you must sleep. Trust me," said the voice. "Just, let me know your name before you sleep for another month."

Another month? How long had she been sleeping? Chrys wasn't sure if she could ask all of that, so she only said what he'd asked for. "Chrysalis."

"I'm Orpheus."

Chrys nodded her head. "Thank you, Orpheus."

When Chrys awoke again, everything was clearer than when she'd woken up before. She was in what she guessed was a cave, it was warm with a fire going by her side and was stocked with provisions. There was a tunnel leading to another part of the cave on the other side where she guessed might have somewhere for the owner to sleep.

She noticed for a moment that her hair had grown down to her chest, and then her mind went to wondering how long she'd been sleeping for. How much time had passed since Dr. Finn pushed her off the boat?

She lay where she was, feeling very drowsy. When she'd last been awake, he'd said she needed to sleep for another month, how long had she been sleeping before then?

Suddenly, Chrys heard two people talking, male and female. Both were familiar, but she wasn't sure where the female voice was from. She saw two people walking through the tunnel and into the large cave where she was, seeing what they looked like.

The man was tall with hair that was a pale blonde, but very fair, and he was strongly built. This time his glasses were off. Orpheus was very handsome for one who must've been spending night and day with her.

The woman with him, surprisingly, was the Hispanic woman that had been at the hospital the morning Chrys blacked out. She had a peg leg and was talking to Orpheus with such urgency that Chrys listened carefully to know what was wrong.

"You know how dangerous he is, and the fact you were able to save Chrys from him is great, but he is looking for her. The boat trip is done and he's already started his search. He knows she's somewhere her parents can't get to, and he's happy about that, but he senses that she's still alive." the Hispanic woman said. She looked over at Chrys and gasped in surprise when she saw her watching them. "You didn't tell me she'd be waking up."

"I didn't know what time, I just knew it was today." Orpheus said to her.

"How are you, sweetie?" the Hispanic woman asked Chrys sweetly, kneeling by her side.

"Fine," Chrys said, looking at her surroundings.

The Hispanic woman turned to look at Orpheus, "And you thought she'd be babbling nonstop with questions."

Orpheus looked at Chrys with sharp brown eyes, and she couldn't help but notice a sense of curiosity emanating from him. He stood where he was, scowling at the Hispanic woman, "Riana, you know I'm more used to having people question me. I thought she'd do the same."

"But Chrys is no normal person, Orpheus." Riana said, smiling at him smugly.

Chrys looked at her with surprise. What was so different about her?

"Let me explain," Riana told her, "When Dr. Finn pushed you off the ship, I was able to transport your body to Orpheus so he could save you. You've been in this cave with Orpheus for six months, and he's been able to get rid of your coughing and the last minute fever you had before going overboard.

"Now, where I've brought you is a sort of alternate universe where I was only able to take you to for a good reason. You have to stay here until I'm able to get Dr. Finn to stop what he's been doing."

"Riana," Orpheus said, "We don't even know what's he's been doing."

"I'm hopeful in finding out so that I know why he's killing so many people."

"He wanted me to haunt the boat so people could remember me." Chrys told them, seeing their sullen faces brightening at her news. She waited for a response, wondering how it would help them.

"Riana, this is great! Now we know why he always told us that he felt sorry for the dead because once they die, people do a memorial and then forget about them. He wants there to be ghosts so that people know some are there and will do anything to be remembered."

"Why me?" Chrys asked, both turned to look at her.

"Maybe he knows you well enough to believe you'd do that." Riana said.

Chrys shook her head. Dr. Finn knew Chrys well enough to know it was hard for her to say a sentence to most people. Normally, all she could manage was just one word.

Riana's lips tightened, "Then maybe he has been doing things without thinking of how it would affect others." She put her hand over Chrys' forehead and said, "She still has a fever, and yet she is awake. Did she wake up with a fever before this?"

"Yes, but her fever was so over the top that she couldn't open her eyes." Orpheus told her truthfully.

Chrys nodded.

"Well, then," Riana said, "That means you need some more sleep."

She nodded again, even though she didn't really want to, having already slept for six months. Orpheus spoke her exact thoughts.

"Riana, she doesn't really need to go to sleep."

She looked at him and protested, "She just nodded yes!"

"Did you see how reluctant she is? Chrys has slept for six months already, and I think she might need a break for at least a half an hour." Orpheus said. "Besides, you might still be able to ask her some questions about how Dr. Finn might be related to her coughing."

"He's her doctor! That's how he's related!" Riana said, but she stayed where she was by Chrys' side and turned to face her. "Tell me how it all started up to where you were before falling off the boat."

Chrys explained as much as she could, telling them every detail she could remember from when she was first in the hospital back at home to the meeting with Dr. Finn. "I couldn't understand much of what he was saying. He didn't seem to hear anything I tried to say. When Orpheus got the lasso around me, he looked desperate about it. As though I was his most important subject."

"All right," Riana said, standing up, "I might just be able to figure something out according to what she's told us."

"Riana…" Chrys said, causing Riana to turn around. She asked, "When will I be able to return home?"

"That depends… I was lucky to transport you here, but our magic has been doing weird things lately, so it's hard to do it anymore."

"What magic is that?" Chrys asked.

Riana was silent a moment, contemplating what to say. According to what Chrys saw in her expressions, it was a decision to tell her the truth. "The magic where you have the ability to read and make a book come to life."


	8. Chapter 8

If Riana didn't look so serious, Chrys might not have believed her. An actual magic that could bring a book to life… it sounded too good to be true, it was something she'd wanted to be able to do all her life. All the stories she wished to go into…

Then it hit her, she was in a story right now, Riana read her into a book to save her.

"Then… what book am I in?" she asked.

Riana sighed, "What sort of books do you like to read, Chrys? It depends, because you may not know the book considering there was very few of it left when Orpheus came into it."

"I like all sorts of books…" Chrys muttered softly, "I read everything; biographies, autobiographies, adventures, mysteries, tragedies, romances… I love every sort there is."

Orpheus seemed intrigued by this bit of information, his eyes brightening.

Riana, however, was inquisitive, "Have you ever heard of Inkheart?"

"Yes!" Chrys said, "It's my favorite story."

Riana and Orpheus were shocked. Orpheus was able to speak first, "How is it that you've read it?"

"Well, it is back in the sales," she said, turning to Riana, "You were there in my world, you must've been it's a best seller again. There were some things said about all the books disappearing, even from homes, but once they finally found _one_ book left of it out in the middle of nowhere on a road surrounded by trees. I'm not sure exactly where, but they re-published it and everyone loves it."

"I thought I had the last book…" Orpheus said in shock.

Chrys shook her head, and then smiled broadly, "So, I'm in Inkheart? This must be a dream…"

"It's not, and I warn you it has changed drastically, right now it is placed long after the story because some characters were taken out and then placed back in… some characters were added." Riana said.

Orpheus added, "And we're not going down to Ombra to check…"

"Why not?" Chrys asked. Being up in what she guessed was the northern mountains that the author wrote didn't write much about, because of the snow.

"I'm most likely forbidden to go back there… you don't want to know why."

Riana smiled, "That's enough storytelling for you, Chrys. You should go to sleep now, and then I might just come back with books for you to read."

Chrys nodded silently, settling back down into the bed.

Orpheus put his glasses on, and Chrys could see they were rimless, and noticed that along with his hair his skin was also very pale.

Riana scowled at him. "Really, you don't even need your glasses, why do you have them?"

"I do need them, for reading. I have the spare time and the books."

She just watched them bicker, and really didn't want to go to sleep. It would take forever to now that she knew she was in the midst of a book. She needed something to think about instead of the amazingness of Inkheart, one of her most favorite books. "Could I read something instead? I might at least fall asleep in the midst of one… please?"

Riana sighed. "That won't help you fall asleep."

"Give me something, it will take me hours to fall asleep anyways… I've already slept for six months, and being in the middle of Inkheart I need something else to think about. I will fall asleep at some point, and it will easily entertain me from thinking about the amazing surprise of being inside of such a beautifully written book."

"What book do you want? Orpheus has a very many." Riana said, crossing her arms, looking strict.

"I'll take anything!" she said.

Orpheus contemplated it, "I'll give you Anne of Green Gables."

"Thank you," she said, that was really good story, too. She sometimes listened to it on tape, the person who read it read Anne's words very well. Pretty much perfectly. Chrys? She couldn't read aloud for the life of her, she knew how to pronounce all sorts of words but had difficulty reading aloud without stumbling on a huge amount of them.


	9. Chapter 9

"Da- oh! I did it." Chrys heard someone say, waking her up from sleeping. She fell asleep reading Anne of Green Gables, as she'd expected. Now, though, she opened her eyes a peak and felt like screaming.

Dr. Finn was there, two pieces of paper in his hands, and now staring at her supposed 'asleep' body greedily.

He walked to her side and now stared at her, "You're mine again, now." He took a look at one of the papers and was about to read when he was interrupted.

"You may want to step away from her or there will be consequences." Orpheus said.

"Hello, Orpheus." Dr. Finn said cheerfully. "There's nothing you can do to stop me though. I've made that clear with Riana already, besides, I need Chrys back in her world where she'll suffer the same problems as before… you may have saved her here, but she won't be okay again once I get her back, she'll die instantly."

"You wrote it like that on that piece of paper you've got there." Orpheus accused.

"So what if I did? Chrys won't be able to see the light of day again."

"Riana and I haven't been able to use our magic as easily, are you the cause of that?" Orpheus asked.

Chrys could feel that Dr. Finn was surprised about that. He said, "Why… yes, I am."

_Is it me?_ Chrys thought to herself suddenly, thinking quickly. _Maybe if I can find out what it is I do that causes it, then I can stop it altogether. What did I do before Dr. Finn was able to come? … I woke up. I read! But that's not a new thing…_

Suddenly, Dr. Finn placed the pieces of paper on the bed Chrys lay on and went up to Orpheus who was much larger than him.

"I'm not afraid of you," Chrys heard Dr. Finn whisper menacingly, "I know your past life more than you do."

"No doubt." Orpheus said, adding "… _stalker_."

Dr. Finn chuckled. "Huh, maybe so."

Chrys very secretly took the pieces of paper and brought them under the blankets with her and read them to herself. Reading them aloud. She then remembered, suddenly, that her parents had gotten a book that Dr. Finn wrote about health, and they read it aloud together. Maybe if she read something aloud written by those who could read book to life… she stopped all ability to read characters in and out of books. How was this possible? … no time to dwell on it now, she had to read it aloud.

She read it aloud softly to herself, not really paying attention to the words much like she had done with Dr. Finn's book after reading five chapters. It was just a bunch of malarkey that made no sense, compared with the real health books I'd read before, it'd totally said the opposite of all the other ones. In such ways that Chrys couldn't explain.

Reading to the end of the sentence, she'd just finished it off with, "Send Chrysalis back to her doom," when Dr. Finn suddenly shrieked in surprise.

"Where are my papers?!"

Chrys came out from under the blankets with the pieces of paper in her hands, and ripped them before his eyes.

"I put a lot of work into that!" Dr. Finn said.

"And now you have no way of getting out of this book." Chrys said with a smirk.

Both men looked confused, and their eyes suddenly widened.

"What did you do?!" Dr. Finn asked, his voice incredibly high pitched. "I feel… weak, and that's not-"

"I do too…" Orpheus said in surprise, "What did you do?"

I gulped. I forgot he'd lose his power entirely as well. I explained what I did, how I came to the conclusion that I could do it, and Dr. Finn was distraught, but Orpheus looked proud, happy even.

Orpheus laughed. "Well then, Finn, you are stuck with us then!"

Dr. Finn looked just about ready to lung at Chrys when Orpheus held him back, taking out a piece of rope neither the doctor nor Chrys knew he had.

"I've been waiting to use this on you." Orpheus said with a smile.

Chrys suddenly had a thought, "What about Riana?"

"She's asleep in her chambers in this cave, she hasn't gone anywhere… though she was planning to for as soon as she got up. It looks like she can't do that now." Orpheus said, now shouting, "Riana! Get up!"

Riana ran into the room a few minutes later, her hair looking disheveled. "Wha –" she began, but then saw Dr. Finn.

I had to explain what happened.

"So it's over?" Riana asked, looking confused. "Then… why do I feel like this isn't over."

Chrys and Orpheus shrugged their shoulders, unsure.


	10. Chapter 10

Chrys had no way of getting back home. It was now some time after they set Dr. Finn out into the wilderness to fend for himself… Chrys felt maybe a year since… but she wasn't certain.

She spent a lot of time either with Orpheus or Riana, or both even, just reading books. Sometimes either Orpheus or Riana went out to catch food and fetch water; one or both of them had to keep watch on Chrys.

The time actually went by fast, and Chrys wondered how long it would possibly last before something happened… if it would ever end. She got better and better, to the point where she was able to daily try walking again. It took quite a bit of time, though, to be able to stay on her feet without falling over, of which Riana and Orpheus had to catch her and put her back to bed for more 'rest.' Chrys kept trying though.

Riana was getting restless. She kept feeling like something wrong was going to happen. Neither Orpheus or Chrys could get what was wrong, all they knew was that there was no way of using their reading ability anymore, so there was no story jumping or taking Chrys back home.

Chrys wondered why, after all that, she wasn't the least bit homesick. She actually enjoyed life with Orpheus and Riana as though it was more of a home than when she was with her parents.

Riana was just about the only one saddened by the loss of being able to story-jump. Orpheus, on the other hand, looked absolutely thrilled, he looked – all in all – free.

Orpheus laughed once again as Chrys made the attempt to stand and fell. He caught her quickly, still laughing. Chrys laughed with him, she couldn't believe that she still couldn't stand up straight. She'd stand fine, and then suddenly wobble. It would take forever to be able to walk again.

"Stop laughing, Orpheus, she's trying her best." Riana said, just coming in with a couple pails of water and a pack of freshly caught fish.

"She's laughing, too. It is funny, you must admit." Orpheus said with a smile, setting Chrys back on the bed.

"Orpheus." Riana said, her voice sounding slightly dangerous. "Your laughing at other peoples' trails and difficulties are another reason other people came to hate you."

Chrys' eyes widened, Orpheus just looked at Riana. She could feel he was seething with anger.

"What about you Riana? Always want to be in charge, a control freak over everyone around you because 'you know best!' I may have more faults than you, but I want to fix them. What about you? After what happened in your world when you murdered –"

Riana took out her sword, cutting him off before he went on. He just stared at her endlessly, and then left the room.

Chrys was silent. Deadly silent… Wishing she hadn't heard any of it. She lay back down.

"Chrys?" Riana asked in surprise. "Are you all right?"

She couldn't speak, she didn't know how to respond. It was likely a fight they normally had before she came, and they just couldn't hold it in… right? … no. It couldn't be.

Chrys only closed her eyes and blocked off everything around her, not listening to the chaos of Riana calling her name, trying to get an answer out of her. It was what she normally did whenever her dad started shouting about something and she would end up falling asleep… suddenly waking up when the fight was over.

That was just the problem… Chrys couldn't deal with fights that she wasn't a part of. Fights she was a part of… there weren't any. So she couldn't deal with any sort of chaos, such as with Dr. Finn's fight with Orpheus, if she hadn't had a plan with the papers, she would've blocked them out entirely until it was over, which it likely wouldn't be.

She never understood why she did that, because it made her vulnerable to likely getting hurt if someone fought her for something and it made it easy to get what they wanted.

Soon, Chrys inevitably fell asleep.

"I'm sorry." Chrys suddenly heard in her deepened sleep.

"I'm sorry, too."

Chrys' eyes suddenly opened, and she sat up quickly. Riana and Orpheus jumped in surprise.

"You're awake!" Riana said. "Chrys, we were so worried!"

"What happened?" Orpheus asked anxiously. Looking outside, Chrys saw it had gotten dark. They were having dinner right now, so she may have been asleep maybe for about five to seven hours… she didn't know.

"I'm sorry," Chrys said regretfully, "It's… uh, an old habit that comes up when others are fighting. I wish it would stop happening! It's becoming _really_ inconvenient."

"Shush, shush," Riana said, "Calm down… we can work on it, don't you worry."

"Used to be worse than that, though," Chrys said softly, "Sometimes I'd be asleep for days, even after people said sorry to each other… it may be that I'm talking more than I used for but that's not a certainty."

Orpheus handed her a glass of water and a plate of fish for her fill.

"Thanks," Chrys said scarfing it all down. "I try to force the tendency down, should a fight break out again."

"You didn't do it with Dr. Finn and I." Orpheus said.

"I was lost in my thoughts, though, so I kind of did block you two out. But I had a plan in my mind, which stopped my movement into sleeping until the fight was over." Chrys said.

"No worries, Orpheus and I will control our urges to fight." Riana said sincerely.

"I'll be fine."


	11. Chapter 11

Things got better. Chrys was now able to take a couple steps at a time, with Orpheus' help. Riana watched with mild interest.

One night Riana was like, "I know! Chrys, you should be able to learn how to walk again by dancing."

Chrys was just standing up from the bed when she said that, in which she sat right back down again. "One step at a time, Riana… I'm no dancer anyways. If I can't walk normally then I most certainly won't be able to dance before I can walk."

Riana chuckled. "I mean slow dancing. If Orpheus keeps a strong hold on you, and you just move around a bit, it might actually help you put weight on your feet and start moving again."

Orpheus contemplated it, "That might actually be a good idea… but why me? I'm no dancer either."

Riana scoffed, rolling her eyes, "You two, it's the best way. And come on Orpheus, you're taller and stronger than me, you'll be able to keep Chrys up like a puppet until she can walk again."

"Oh great…" Chrys said sarcastically, "I am being referred to as a puppet."

Riana and Orpheus laughed.

"Oh, fine you don't have to. It was just a suggestion." Riana said.

A couple nights later, Orpheus and Riana decided to leave Chrys alone for a bit. They wanted to get more food before the big snowstorms hit giving that it was truly winter, which Chrys had been with them through once before yet they hadn't left together the last time.

She waited in her bed, reading a textbook on astronomy for the time being. It wouldn't take long.

After a short while, though, she heard sounds and looked up, wondering if Orpheus and Riana were back so soon. She didn't see anything and decided it was just her imagination, so she went back to reading the book.

There it was again!

This time she looked up and saw two men… she jumped in surprise and wondered whether she should scream for help. But, Orpheus and Riana were likely a long ways away.

Chrys could feel strong emanating warmth coming from them and could feel for some reason that she knew who it was. Dustfinger the fire-dancer and the other man, she supposed as, his apprentice.

Dustfinger was just as imagined from the first part of Inkheart. He had ginger colored hair, and blue eyes, as well as a marten on his shoulder. What he lacked was the three knife slashes given to him by one of the cohorts of the main bad guy, Capricorn, the knife holder was by the name of Basta.

The apprentice was different… dark faced, long eyelashes, short hair, and sweet black eyes. He had Dustfinger's air of determination, which wasn't usual for the book because Dustfinger in the written book was a coward. He had changed since then though, obviously.

"Hello," Dustfinger said as comfortingly as possible, "What are you doing out her in the cold mountains."

Chrys was paralyzed. Nonetheless she answered, "That's none of your business."

"Sorry, but it's just that I've never seen you before, and I know basically everyone around. Even up here in the mountains… there's supposed to be an Orpheus, do you live here with him?"

Dustfinger scared her more the way he was at that moment than in the loveable story she read. She missed the coward he had been, but now he was fearless.

"And I think you should leave me alone." Chrys said coldly.

"We mean no harm. But if you do want us out, you may as well show us out."

"I'd rather not… I don't trust you Dustfinger."

"Ah, see, that's not fair, you know my name but I don't know yours."

"You're fairly famous… your apprentice though, I don't know." Chrys wasn't exactly sure what she was saying, but she felt certain they wouldn't be leaving before Orpheus and Riana got back.

"Ah, yes, my trusted apprentice, Farid. He's very good at my craft as well." Dustfinger said proudly.

"What do you want?" Chrys asked. "Whatever it is, you won't find it here, so get out… please"

"We were sent on a mission to find Orpheus… with his abilities of bringing words to life, you may be him in a young girl's form. Or, he may be behind the loss of that ability down in Ombra for a few important Silvertongues." Dustfinger said.

Farid seemed to flinch at this.

"That-" Chrys was about to say it wouldn't be Orpheus' fault when she was suddenly cut off by a shout.

"Chrysalis!" In Orpheus and Riana came in their heavy coats, with Riana wielding a sword and Orpheus right behind her.

"_Put_ your_ hands_ up fire-dancers."

"Ah, Riana… Orpheus… good to see you." Dustfinger said brightly, putting his hands up, as did Farid.

Orpheus moved around them to Chrys' side. "Are you all right?" he asked nervously.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me." Chrys said, noticing Dustfinger and Farid watching them. "These two – uh – trespassers surprised me is all."

"We aren't –" Farid began, speaking for the first time.

Orpheus cut him off now, "Yes you are trespassing, this is where I live and I'm out of the way from you people so I'm doing nothing to bother you."

"We heard from a reliable source that the disturbance in reading ability, for the Silvertongues, was caused up here. So we thought of you." Dustfinger said.

"That wasn't me… I've lost that ability, too." Orpheus said. "I have no power."

"Well, good," Dustfinger said, "Because it's not just us up here… this place is surrounded so as to ensure your captivity, Orpheus."

Orpheus paled, more than Chrys thought possible.

"How long until they stampede on in here?" Riana asked sharply.

"Shortly, once we raise the call." Dustfinger said.

"You're going to put all of us in jail?" Chrys asked.

The two fire-dancers nodded.

"Ah – you see – that's not good for us." Riana said, now waving her sword ready to strike the two.

They played their turn… fire. Bringing it along the walls and on outside where there was a big battle cry. But, this would hardly be a war, they were only going up against three people in a cave!

As soon as this happened, Orpheus grabbed on to Chrys still wrapped up in the blanket but dropping the textbook, carrying her out of bed and running to the back of the cave where she'd never gone to before. He ran her through many passageways until they reached the back where nothing was.

"What about Riana?" I shouted in the heavy wind, the storm was coming.

"It's part of our plan! She's allowing herself to be captured by them, trying to fight them until she can't do it anymore, enough for me to be able to get you out of the cave and out somewhere safer." Orpheus said.

"But where?" Chrys asked.

"You'll see," Orpheus said, pulling a part of the blanket over her head, "Just go to sleep, we'll be safely elsewhere by the time you wake up!"

She nodded, but as she tried to sleep with Orpheus laboring through the heavy snow, she worried about how bad this could be. It was also likely that Riana might not still be alive… what would happen if she wasn't? What if one of the fire-dancers was able to follow Orpheus through the maze-like caves without their noticing and followed them to their haven now?

Even throughout all that, she fell asleep listening to Orpheus' heavy breathing. She was easily exhausted because of her disability… which she hated.


	12. Chapter 12

Chrys woke up in a warm bed, still within a cave, but a different one. There wasn't a whole bunch of different caves, just one small one, it was enough for the living space of Orpheus and her.

Where was Orpheus?

Chrys sat up quickly and looked around, finally looking at the ground where Orpheus lay. "Orpheus!" she cried out, tearing the blanket off and easing herself to the ground to take a look at him. Feeling his forehead, he was burning hot.

With a lot of difficulty and effort, Chrys got Orpheus up on to the bed, covering him with the blankets, though taking off his heavy coat and glasses first. She placed the glasses on the small table next to the bed.

She looked for a first aid kit in the small cave. Seeing a small briefcase lying on the floor, she crawled over to it, feeling lucky she could still move her legs though not being able to stand.

She tore through the briefcase until she found a bottle labeled for colds. Opening it up and sniffing it, she deemed it safe and crawled back over to Orpheus and poured a small bit into his mouth.

"Drink," she cooed, hoping he could hear her. He did, swallowing what she gave him.

Looking around, Chrys saw a whole new cave with other things that made it seem as though they'd gotten a moving van to take it all over here. She had a feeling that they might have found this place beforehand and placed stuff there in case of having to move. There was a small bookcase on the other side of the room, and there were a bunch of materials scattered across the floor.

_I'm going to have to take care of him now… and myself_, Chrys thought, taking a fishing pole with a can of worms, a bag, and a pail for water.

She knew she had to crawl her way out and in, but she was determined, yet wondering how far away some water would be. Outside of the cave, she knew she didn't need to worry, there was a stream right by the cave. When she got there and checked the water, it was fresh water, easily drinkable, not toxic whatsoever.

Chrys filled the pail with water and then got the fishing pole ready, having a skill of fishing was something she'd learned from her brother's love of it. She'd read about it, actually fished with him, but every time they caught fish they'd set it back into the water, this time she actually had to keep and cook them.

She spent about an hour outside, and caught three fish (a couple sardines), placing them in the bag. Then there was the matter of getting back to the cave, which she did with a little difficulty. She still crawled back, but she had to pick up one after the other and place them a little ways in front of her, crawl up to them, and do the same thing until she reached the cave.

Chrys did everything; taking a cloth and soaking it with water, putting it on Orpheus' forehead; getting wood, matchstick, and some newspaper, put in a fire circle and light it up; find a book on cooking freshly caught fish and following the directions, along with finding two pans to use; the second pan, place some water in and put on the fire; and making sure Orpheus had his needed share of the medicine for his cold.

When Orpheus finally opened his eyes, Chrys had already eaten some food. It had been a couple days since they got there, and Chrys had been doing all the work nonstop. As soon as she saw he was awake, she crawled to his side.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he muttered, sitting up, "Why am I in bed? And… how did you do all this?"

Chrys handed him a place of fish and a mug of tea, the tea bags she found in a corner of the cave. "I woke up and found you on the ground next to the bed. You had a terrible cold and so I've been doing all the work."

He took a sip from his mug. "I'm sorry, you shouldn't have had to."

As he ate the fish, Chrys said, "It's not your fault you got sick, and it's been fine. It is a lot of work to crawl outside the cave to get water and catch fish, as well as make sure you're still alive… I've been giving you medicine, and feeding you in your sleep. I'm lucky I was able to get you to swallow anything."

"I had the same problem with you when you were asleep for some number of months…" Orpheus said.

Chrys smiled, "And I thank you for that. If this cold of yours lasted months, I would still work as much as I could to help you get better… trust me, it isn't your fault, you had to walk for a long time in the cold, carrying me."

"What is my fault is the reason those people came to take us, Chrys," Orpheus said somberly, taking his glasses from the table next to him and putting them on, "They want me, likely to kill me. I have done so many wrongs to them; you'd be shocked at how unbearable I was. I just hope Riana is okay… they have her in their clutches."

"I guess that's what she was worrying about for the past few months… she could feel they were going to come." Chrys said. "Maybe Dr. Finn…"

"I'm going to guess as well that he tipped us off, knowing their hatred for me."

"Why though?" Chrys asked. "Why do they hate you so much?"

Orpheus looked at Chrys and sighed, a sad sigh. "I feel so bad about it. There is a man and his wife that I brought into this book, also a man with my ability; he is now known as the Bluejay, a strong hero. His daughter came into this book with Dustfinger's apprentice, and they brought me in the book because Dustfinger had died. They asked me to bring him back…

"It took me time, because I first wanted to be known throughout Ombra as a very wealthy man. Then… I wrote something that I meant for killing the Bluejay as a trade for Dustfinger's life. When it happened, his wife and daughter hated me… but what had actually happened is that I sent the Bluejay to Death, where they made a pact about a book the Bluejay made to preserve life for the Adderhead…"

The Adderhead… the Silver Prince, who killed every robber he could. Sometimes, those who came into the group called the Strolling Players, led by the Black Prince and his bear. The Adderhead was an evil man, and his daughter Violante had married Cosimo of Ombra. But, as Riana and Orpheus had told me once before, Cosimo died first in a fire from Capricorn's men… the second time in a battle against the Adderhead. He had come back to life again, but only as a copy of the real Cosimo, the reason why he'd been so dumb as to go into war.

The reason he'd come back to life… the author of the story was in the book, too, and he had wanted Cosimo to come back and help Ombra. But… the copy turned out to be an idiot and no longer showed love to Violante. Then he died in a fight against the Adderhead.

Orpheus continued, after a couple bites of fish, "Dustfinger _and_ the Bluejay came back… and so I placed my allegiance under the Adderhead, help him defeat them so that he'd win in the end. But, I staked my trust on the wrong card, the Bluejay wrote the words into the book that killed the Adderhead, and I was all alone without any sort of protection from him. So I fled, still thinking I was right…

"Up in the mountain is where I met Riana. I had been in the cave for a couple of days, unable to take care of myself in the frozen wilderness I didn't know how to get by in except read some food for myself. Read some blankets and coats… she suddenly appeared in the cave and helped me from then on. She tried telling me of the many places I could go, but I didn't want to leave the cave, didn't want to leave the book of Inkheart. Then this thing with your Dr. Finn came up and I was saving people and sending them back home, though why he wanted ghosts to haunt places in the world without magic, I've no idea."

Chrys thought on it, "Likely to give the world some sort of magic to be frightened of… some source of scare that had nothing to do with Halloween mazes, being broke, or losing a job."

"That may be true…" Orpheus said, looking down at his hands, "I bet you hate me now, after knowing I tried to follow the villains in the story. All because my love of Dustfinger as a character, caused me to try and kill him after I saved him from Death."

Chrys only put her hands over his and said, "That's how you used to be, Orpheus. It may not have been your best side, but I love the person you are now."

Orpheus looked up at her in surprise, "But –"

" – but nothing… the person you are now regrets what you did to those people, wants to make things better. That, and you a_re_ a better person… you can take care of yourself, you apologize for things you're sure are your fault, but sometimes I think you don't really have to." Chrys said. "You've also done so much to keep me alive, and you are the only person I can actually share my love of books with unlike people back where I was… I haven't told you this, but during my time here I haven't been the least bit homesick."

"I guess that's no surprise, not being homesick," Orpheus muttered, "Inkheart is a wonderful world."

Chrys giggled a bit, "I haven't seen the rest of Inkheart, though. In a cave just with you and Riana, is my home now, and I love it so much. Even if I won't be able to walk for a long while."

Orpheus laughed. "We still need to work on that, I guess, you determined girl!"

Chrys smiled. "Yeah we do, if you're to ever not need to carry me anywhere in a hurry."

"We should try what Riana suggested before… dancing," Orpheus said, "It won't be a favorite pastime, but that's the best we can do to help you walk again, as it's seemingly obvious you haven't tried to walk since we were in the mountains."

"I was taking care of you!" Chrys protested, still uncertain about dancing.

"I know," Orpheus said with a chuckle, "In other words, I'm wondering, where have you been sleeping while I'm on the bed."

Chrys pointed to the furs on the ground with a light blanket on top. When she saw Orpheus' gaze look disapproving, she said, "I'm sleeping on that, it's actually really comfortable. Especially since I see no other bed around or ways of getting a bed, you stay on this bed, and I'll stay on the floor. It's really fine, and it also meant I didn't have to use too much strength just to get into bed."

"Chrys, it's the floor." Orpheus said plainly.

"I know, and I'm just fine on the floor."

"Whatever you say."


	13. Chapter 13

"I'm not telling you where they are," Riana said with a smile, "And I will tell you it is not the fault of Orpheus nor I as to why we can't bring characters or objects to life from reading."

She was chained up to the wall in a small dungeon room in the castle of Ombra, being asked questions by the Bluejay.

The Bluejay was a tall man, with hair as dark as moleskin, and a scar on his left arm.

"Orpheus won't come to save you if that's why you're not going to tell me where he is." Bluejay. He sounded very harsh when in reality, Riana knew, he was a very sweet man, originally a regular bookbinder. But, he had a hate for Orpheus, that way he made him and his family suffer so much.

"No, Orpheus has someone to take care of, he knows I can take care of myself." Riana said.

The Bluejay was confused, until Dustfinger came in.

"The girl?" he asked.

Riana inclined her head. "In case you hadn't noticed, she is disabled, thanks to that doctor who rat us out to you. Where is that coward?"

"He died," the Bluejay said monotonously, "He came into the village absolutely frostbitten and starved, he said where you were, that the source of the loss of our power was with you, and he died. An honorable death in any case."

Riana scoffed. "If you knew how he really was, you wouldn't think so… he tried killing the girl you saw, Dustfinger. You saw how vulnerable she is."

"Oh, I think she can take care of herself thanks to her tongue." Dustfinger chuckled.

"She was trying to get you to go away so as to keep Orpheus and I safe!" Riana protested.

"How do you know for certain that Orpheus will continue to take care of her? He is a heartless man, Riana, I hope you know that!" the Bluejay said. "Tell us where he is before she dies!"

Riana turned her face away from them, not speaking.

"Very well then," the Bluejay said, "Continue the search, we will talk to her later if we still can't find them."

The two men, bonded together because of both being able to come back from the world of Death, left the room. Riana seethed with anger and worry for Chrys and Orpheus. She quickly reached into her hair and took out a bobby pin, ready to pick the locks with it.


	14. Chapter 14

"I can't dance!" Chrys said once again. It had now been a couple weeks, and they now sat by the fire in the otherwise dark cave in the night, cooking the fish. She found it surprising to have to live on fish and berries that they found, but it was better than nothing, even as she got tired of eating the exact same meals every day.

"It will help you walk again, if we take it slow. I'm not going to make you to the salsa or tango, just a simple waltz. I, of course, lead and keep hold of you so as you don't fall, you follow." Orpheus said.

Chrys grumbled in response.

"Come on, for yours and Riana's sake. It's the best way, even if you don't like it. The way you've been trying will probably work in a couple years, but I'm pretty sure it would be nice for you to be able to walk now." Orpheus said, standing up, looking down at her expectantly, "Don't you think?"

She sighed, and was silent for a bit, contemplating it. Finally, she looked up at him and nodded.

He held his hands out to her, which she took, and he helped her stand up. It was a little difficult to find a position in which Orpheus could keep a good hold on Chrys, but they found it. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, bringing a lot of weight on Orpheus, and Orpheus had his hands at her back, there to catch her should she lose her hold.

They danced around on the cave floor, and Chrys actually felt like she heard music playing. It was a comfortable environment, more than she thought possible. She was… content.

Neither were sure of how long they were doing this, but Chrys moved her legs as best she could, using them more than she had been for the past few months. It hurt, but she continued to move, because though her legs were in excruciating pain with working out, her heart was pounding comfortably.

This feeling was almost unbearable for Chrys, to just follow along with the dance. She felt almost like pulling away… but not…

Orpheus cleared his throat and moved Chrys over to the bed, setting her down on it. "You're sleeping on the bed tonight," he said sternly, but she could see in his eyes he'd felt something of sorts, too.

She didn't have the heart to protest against sleeping on the bed. But she did say "That's a good exercise, my legs were in pain."

"In pain how?" Orpheus asked.

"You know, exercise pain."

"I know only too well that sort of pain." Orpheus said with a shake of his head and a smile.

Everything was suddenly back to normal.

Over a long period of time, that was their regular routine, and it got even more awkward each time. Chrys just couldn't understand it, everything was fine until they started dancing so as to strengthen her legs, which got stronger every single time.

This one time they did it, Orpheus was able to spin her without her falling. They tried for a few minutes to allow Chrys to stand and walk on her own, she was still a little wobbly but she was able to move on her own. This amazing feat encouraged Chrys to keep trying, so she made an agreement with herself that from now on she was not to crawl when going to fish or fetch water.

Orpheus was excited, himself, for this achievement and so they went back to dancing the waltz a little more; laughing, smiling, and joking. Looking up at him, Chrys noticed his eyes shined happily, it was the best time of her life, she felt.

Suddenly, they heard a twig crack, startling them. They stopped dancing to look outside into the darkness.

"Stay back," Orpheus commanded Chrys, grabbing a large piece wood of by the cave's entrance and slowly walking outside. He held the wood, ready to strike and said, "Show yourself!"

A sight neither of them had expected to see… Riana stumbled into the light of the fire, which shown out to the bushes outside the cave. Her good leg – what was once her good leg – was bleeding profusely. She held an equally bloody sword and as she fell on the ground in front of Orpheus, she looked up at him and laughed.

"How are you going to protect anyone with a stick against many swords, Orpheus?"

"Never know who it is," he said, throwing the stick to the side and kneeling down next to her, "I don't even have a sword."

"Now you do."

Chrys couldn't bear it anymore, she ran out and, though she fell, she landed right next to Riana and looked at her leg. A blade had sunk into it very deep, but luckily it hadn't cut into the bone.

"What do you think, Chrys, am I going to live?" Riana asked.

"You will, it's a good thing you came to us when you did, a day later and it would be almost untreatable… we need to bring you inside the cave."

"Since when did she get any authority?" Riana asked with amusement as Orpheus picked her up and carried her to the bed. Chrys went and got a salve and bandages.

"Since she saved my life." Orpheus said.

Chrys looked up at him with a smile.

"Really?! … How?" Riana asked with interest.

As Chrys tended to her leg, she and Orpheus explained what happened when they got to the cave. Even continuing it until the point where Riana came back to the cave, so as to explain how Chrys was able to walk a little better.

"What about you?" Orpheus asked, now gesturing to her leg. "How… how did this happen?"

Riana became very somber as she explained what had happened. While Chrys and Orpheus were making progress with life, she was being interrogated by Dustfinger and the Bluejay (even gave me a description of him).

"Orpheus…" Riana said, very seriously, "They believe that you are the cause of their inability to bring words to life… they want you dead."

Chrys gasped. "You should've told them it's my fault!"

"No!" Riana said, "They don't care for you, it's best to leave it that way. Besides, they've wanted Orpheus for a long while anyways. Though they were happy for him to be out of their lives, they won't rest until they know he won't bother them ever again."

"But it wasn't his fault! … and he's changed!"

Riana looked at Orpheus, "You've told her?"

He nodded, and then explained to Chrys, "Just saying that I've changed won't mean a thing to them… they won't believe it, and I'm quite certain they'll want me dead anyways."


	15. Chapter 15

Chrys tended to Riana as much as possible, taking off the bandage to put the salve on and re-bandaging it. It was lucky enough that they kept a good supply of bandages otherwise Riana would be using the same bloody one as she soaked up a bunch, slowly lessening in thickness as the weeks passed.

"It's a lucky thing you came as quickly as you did; any later and you would have bled out." Orpheus said to Riana.

She nodded, "I realize now and I realized that right after the Bluejay's sword caught on to my leg… he's a hard man to fight, even having had such little training in his life."

"It's amazing to find that a bookbinder like him could just be able to wield a sword."

Chrys hummed to herself, wondering if something of the same had just happened to her. The Bluejay came into this story a harmless bookbinder, and as the story came along he became a robber, able to protect his family and himself. Chrys came into the story a quiet girl who kept to herself, now she spoke closely with Riana and Orpheus and was able to help in fishing and fetching water for the trio.

"I want to see you two dance…" Riana said thoughtfully, "Though, Chrys, your legs are doing better, I just want to see how you two did it."

As the two positioned themselves the way they had to for Chrys, she thought to herself about how awkward it would now be having a set of eyes watch them now. It had already been getting awkward when they were alone, with a feeling Chrys couldn't fully understand… but, she decided to block out Riana, pretend as if it was just her and Orpheus in the cave.

They danced, and the silence felt as though it were building dramatically in Chrys' mind, confusing her thoughts. She looked at Orpheus' eyes which smiled down at her, no different from his mouth…

Stopping in the middle of the room, Chrys now felt dead silence, now remembering that Riana was in the room as well she looked around, searching for something to say to break it.

Noticing there was no water in the pails, she said, "I should – uh – fetch some more water."

Orpheus let go her… it felt reluctant… and she took the pail outside, trying to figure out what it was she felt every time she was that close to him. It's not like they weren't usually near each other, but in dancing they were _unusually_ close, she wasn't used to being that close with anyone.

When she walked back, she stopped just short of the entrance, out of sight, to hear Riana and Orpheus conversing.

Riana sighed in annoyance, "I know what I saw Orpheus! You like her, and she likes you!"

"It's more complicated than a liking, Riana," Orpheus said softly.

"How?" she asked.

"I don't like her… I _love_ her."

Chrys loved him, too… that was the feeling she had… she knew it now. She'd never loved another guy unless it was her father or brother, but it was extremely different with Orpheus. Was it perhaps more passionate? She couldn't say.

"Oh," Riana said, "Well, what's stopping you from telling her that?"

"These past many months – year and a half – you and I have been taking care of her. You don't expect to date your doctor after he treats you for whatever sickness you have… nor become so close to them." Orpheus said, fading out, quite unsure himself.

"Of course you don't expect it. How can you expect love? Orpheus, she's grown to be your friend now, you've taken care of her and she's taken care of you… if what's stopping you is you thinking she won't love you back, then I am positive that you are completely wrong." Riana said smugly.

"W-why, do you think?" Orpheus asked.

"Who has ever gone to the extreme to help you feel well again?"

"No one but Chrys has."

"And when she did, it was difficult because of her inability to walk, but she stuck through it until you got better. I didn't say anything to her about you being important to her well-being, so I believe she felt she needed you to stay alive because she loves you." Riana was very sincere.

Chrys hadn't thought about that… but she felt it was very likely. She was afraid Orpheus would die if didn't tend to him, and she didn't want him to die.

"You're just using context clues, Riana, that's not the full truth." Orpheus said.

_He's downgrading himself…_ Chrys thought. Now she walked on in, not wanting the conversation to continue.

Riana and Orpheus abruptly looked away from each other, it was so easily shown that even if Chrys hadn't been listening in on their conversation, she would've known something was up.

"Uh…" she began, looking at them in confusion, "What's going on with you two?"

"Nothing!" they both said quickly, almost causing Chrys to jump.

_Great, more awkwardness…_ Chrys thought.

Riana continued to ask to watch Chrys and Orpheus dance, and Chrys could feel Orpheus' spitefulness towards Riana. Yet, when they danced together, they both completely forgot about her and disappeared into their own little world together.

Although, luck did not come their way for this feeling of calmness and solitude. Orpheus and Chrys were cooking dinner when Riana suddenly sat up.

"Something wrong?" Orpheus asked, as Riana seemed like a squirrel in her jitteriness.

Riana suddenly ran out of bed and grabbed the sword Orpheus had spent a whole hour, more or so, cleaning.

She stood at the mouth of the cave, listening to the sounds intently when suddenly… swish! A sword suddenly struck her down, and as Chrys looked at Riana's motionless body, she almost cried because it didn't look at all as though she was breathing any more.

The Bluejay held his sword and now looked at Orpheus with anger in his eyes.

Chrys was scared for Orpheus' life, and as the Bluejay advanced toward him, she stepped in between them.

"Get out of the way!" the Bluejay said to me.

"Don't," she suddenly heard Dustfinger say, "You can't kill him now, otherwise you won't get any answer out of him. Chrys is right to stand there."

"You can't kill him… _period_." Chrys said.

"It's not for you to say that." Dustfinger said.

"It is… I have rights…" Chrys said, though dubious as she almost forgot she was in the middle of Inkheart. Everything was different.

Dustfinger chuckled. "So innocent, you are, Chrysalis. You don't understand the significance behind our hate of Orpheus here… why don't you step out of the way, now that it seems you have the ability to walk again."

"Why don't you just go away and leave us alone? We're not doing you any harm in staying away from you." Chrys said.

"Yes you are… my powers, my daughter's powers, diminished."

"Orpheus', too."

"Chrys, please," Chrys heard Orpheus say, putting his hands on her shoulders "They want me. Stay here, stay safe, I'll be fine."

_No!_ Chrys thought desperately, but Orpheus pushed her out from between him and the Bluejay. But this placed her in more danger as Dustfinger's apprentice, Farid, came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her so she couldn't fight, and placing his hand over her mouth.

"Leave her alone!" Orpheus said, but Dustfinger just brought his hands behind his back and tied them with rope.

Dustfinger then tossed Farid some rope and he did the same with Chrys who complied.

"What are you going to do about Riana?" Chrys asked, looking towards her body with worry. Was she truly dead?

Dustfinger went to check, and then stood up and beckoned some of what Chrys reckoned to be members of the Strolling Players. They placed her on a stretched, and Dustfinger had the face of bad news.

"We will… have a burial for her, if that's what you'd like."

Chrys felt a tear fall down her cheek.


	16. Chapter 16

Chrys woke up from an uneasy sleep and found she was somewhere else. She looked around, checking the room in which she was in, and out the window… she was in a room in Ombra castle, and she could tell as much because of how everything looked, just as the author had described.

Outside of her window was a bird's nest of birds with yellow breasts, and out in the courtyard were many stables and huts for castle workers like blacksmiths, grooms, and, of course, soldiers.

She instantly thought of Orpheus, realizing he wasn't in the room and ran toward the door. _Locked?!_ She had no way out.

Sitting down on the bed she felt like crying. What would they do to Orpheus? How could she save him? Save herself? She was locked in a tower almost like Rapunzel, except she didn't have that long of hair, though it'd grown down to her sides.

Her hair was in tangles… she picked up a brush from the side table by the bed and brushed the tangles out, thinking. They had to allow someone in once in a while to give her food, and so she might be able to convince someone to let her go see Orpheus wherever he was, perhaps even stay with him instead of in a locked room.

Putting the brush down on the table, she suddenly heard the door handle being unlocked. When it was opened, a guard popped his head in and then back out, seemingly to check that she was awake, and then let a stranger in.

He was an old man, with a tortoise-like face but a bright smile like a child. "Hello there, I am Inkweaver."

Chrys didn't say anything, she just looked at him. Why was he familiar?

"I am to be your entertainment," he sounded annoyed with this, "So I'm allowed to stay in the tower with you, get to know you and order what food you'd like."

She looked away from him with tears blurring her vision, she didn't want him, but she supposed he was all she would be allowed to get.

"I heard your name to be Chrysalis… that's a very pretty name." Inkweaver said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Thank you…" she said softly, giving Inkweaver confidence.

"What would you like me to do, I am a very renowned poet."

It suddenly struck her… there was an image of him in the back of his book now… Inkheart! He wrote Inkheart! And he'd gone missing in the other world!

She turned and stared at him, "And the writer of this story…"

His mouth opened, "How do you…?"

"I'm not exactly a character now am I?" she asked straightforwardly.

"Well… no, I guess that's true… Orpheus brought you here? I'm actually quite sorry you had to live with him for a time."

Anger welled up in her, but then she calmed it down, this man only knew the bad side of Orpheus. "No, Riana brought me here… she's the woman the Bluejay captured some weeks ago and then killed her when she tried to protect Orpheus and I…" now the tears came.

Inkweaver came and put his arm around her, for a source of compassion. "I'm sorry…"

"Where's Orpheus?"

"They put him in the dungeons."

"Take me to him, please," Chrys asked him, pulling away from his kind embrace, "I'd rather be down in the dungeons with him instead of locked up in this room."

"With Orpheus?! Why child? What has he done to you?"

"Nothing!" she said softly, "He's my best friend… he took care of me after what that doctor did to me, the one that ratted out where our location was."

"_Orpheus_ took care of you?..." Inkweaver sounded very confused, as if Orpheus could never have the goodness in him to take care of anyone. "He sounds like quite a changed man according to you."

"He is… he told me what he did to you people. He didn't care for a while but when he met Riana, she helped change him and he has helped people since, and I am the last person he's had to help. He regrets what he did to you people and that's why he's stayed out of the way." Chrys was determined to help Inkweaver know that, and perhaps tell others he has changed. "What are they doing to him?"

"Running tests to see if he still has his power, as the Bluejay and his daughter have lost theirs." Inkweaver said, watching Chrys as though he was making an inspection that blew his mind.

"He lost his power, too, it's not his fault… can I please be with him?" Chrys asked.

Inkweaver sighed and stood up, "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you… so much." Chrys said.

The old man grumbled as he walked out of the room.

He didn't come back until sometime later, in which Chrys was in her room alone with nothing to do. Boredom had crept in as she had no books.

Inkweaver even brought Orpheus, who looked absolutely dirty, likely from the dungeons.

"Orpheus!" she ran towards him.

His face brightened, "Chrys! Oh…"

She had her arms wrapped around him in a hug, and they held on tightly, as Inkweaver closed the door apprehensively. He was likely aware that there were now two people in a room who could turn against him.

"The reason I brought you here, Orpheus, is because Chrysalis demanded it, though originally wanting to go down into the dungeons with you." Inkweaver said, hatefully.

"What?" Orpheus asked, pulling away but keeping hold on Chrys' arms, "Why?"

"I was worried for you," she said, "And I see I rightly was."

"Oh, just a bit of rolling around in the dirt in the dungeons, they didn't hurt me too badly." Orpheus said with an encouraging smile.

Inkweaver grumbled.

Chrys almost laughed, but she pointed to another door in the room and said, "Go clean yourself. There's a bathtub with soaps in there."

He nodded happily and left, leaving her alone with Inkweaver again.

"Why are you so close with him?" he asked disgustedly.

"Try hanging around with someone in a cave for a couple months." Chrys said.

"But with _Orpheus_?"

"He cares about me and I care about him, we're square. We're both into reading books, and love Inkheart… it's has been the best home for me even when in hiding… he's the sweetest person, and I can actually relate to him more than anyone else." Chrys said, and when Inkweaver looked dubious, she added the most she could. "People _do_ change, Inkweaver. He does regret what he's done, if anything he wishes to turn the clock back."

Inkweaver regarded her with a look she couldn't describe, and said, "You really care for Orpheus… I could say it's cute, but really I'm surprised. For anyone here, I know for certain that no one likes him, and you're the first person I've met who does."

Chrys thought about it. "How long has it been since Orpheus hurt anybody in Ombra or elsewhere?"

"About three to four years." Inkweaver said.

Her mouth almost fell open, "I've been with him about half that amount of time… most of it I was asleep and, or, disabled."

"Disabled how?" Inkweaver asked.

"They didn't tell you? Dustfinger and Farid saw that much the first time they saw me… I wasn't able to walk for a while because I was kept asleep for six months."

"Why? I'm actually quite intrigued." Inkweaver said.

She explained everything that happened before she came to the inkworld, and what happened while Orpheus took care of her. Inkweaver didn't interrupt at all, listening very intently.

"So…" he began, "You've grown attached to Orpheus, am I correct?"

"How do you mean?"

"I know a person is in love like I know this story –"

"– all right, I admit that, I love Orpheus. But even if I didn't, I would still stand by what I'm saying. _He has changed_."

"I have," they heard Orpheus say from the doorway, he looked back to his regular self, but with a bigger smile. Yet, after that sentence, he became serious again, "And I'll do anything I can for everyone to believe that, _Inkweaver_… it's the truth."

The soldiers came in, causing Chrys to believe they had been eavesdropping the entire time

"We'll see about that!" they said, grabbing both Orpheus and Chrys, bounding their hands together and taking them out of the room.

"Oh, come one, soldiers always ruin everything!" Inkweaver said, following them.

Chrys wasn't exactly sure where they were taking them, because she was jostled around so much that she couldn't see anything around her.

They reached a room that Chrys recognized the descriptions of as the throne room. There were candles around the room, not lit as it was still daytime and light shined into the room, and were all mostly in front of the statues of what Chrys realized to be Cosimo the Fair.

Violante, now known as Her Kindliness (used to be Her Ugliness because of a big purple birthmark she once had which disfigured her left cheek, now gone because of what Inkweaver had written to bring Cosimo the Fair back), was in the room with the Bluejay and Dustfinger. Inkweaver went up to them and whispered something.

After that, Violante came to us and said, "So, Orpheus, you still say you are not behind the loss of this said 'power' you and the Bluejay both have?"

"I still say so," he said determinedly, now speaking louder, "And I want to say to you, the Bluejay, Dustfinger, Inkweaver – everyone – that I'm sorry. I was an idiot who wanted control of this world, my most favorite place in all my childhood."

They were surprised, Chrys could see, but unconvinced.

"Then tell us truthfully," the Bluejay said, walking up to Orpheus until they stood face-to-face, "If it wasn't you who was the cause of our loss of power, then who or what was?"

Before Orpheus could say anything, Chrys confessed, "It was me."

Everyone stared at her now, mostly incredulous looks were given, but from Violante she contemplated it with interest.

Chrys explained what had happened, how she was able to block it, yet without entirely knowing how it was possible, as well as about Dr. Finn's own plans for her. "Riana hadn't wanted to tell you it was me, to keep me out of it. But I stopped it only out of self-defense."

The Bluejay walked up to her and whispered to her so that only she could hear, perhaps because no one in the inkworld was supposed to know that they were only words on a page. "It's all right, we can actually let it slide since it's you… and I have a proposition to make."

The guards unbound hers and Orpheus' hands, but let Orpheus somewhere else as Dustfinger and the Bluejay brought Chrys out into the courtyard.

"You truly believe Orpheus has changed?" Dustfinger asked once outside.

"Yes, I do." Chrys said, wondering what they were proposing for her.

"We're not likely to trust him again, but with you we can probably trust to tell the truth. Am I correct?" the Bluejay asked.

"I've never lied before." Chrys said softly, "I never do."

"Then we can trust you to stay with Orpheus and make him happy," Dustfinger said brightly, "He was a very crusty, angry man when he only used his words to create money for himself or manipulate death. We knew part of his back story, living in a home where he was the only one who loved to read… were you the same?"

"Partly," she said, "I was the only one who reads every sort of book genre… and I was the quietest one. I mostly kept to myself."

They both looked at her.

"Here," the Bluejay said, "You can spend the day with our daughters; they're out with Doria and Farid, but Dustfinger can find them."

"Sure…" Chrys said.

Once she was with them, Chrys knew who Dustfinger's daughter was. Brianna… she had pretty, gingery hair… she was a mixture of her beautiful mother, Roxane and of Dustfinger.

Meggie was the Bluejay's daughter, with very fair hair, but she had her father's quirks, so Chrys had been told.

Doria and Meggie were together, and, something apparently surprising to most people, Farid and Brianna were together. Chrys learned from the quad of people that during the time in which Farid and Brianna had to work for Orpheus, the time of the Adderhead, Brianna hated Farid because Dustfinger had taken his own life for him. But, during that time as well, Farid had been fond of Meggie, in which case I wondered how they could all possibly just be friends with each other.

I could only really relate to Meggie, who loved reading books as well.

Farid apologized to Chrys, secretly, for having gone after her and Orpheus, but she brushed it off. They thought they were a danger and had acted upon it, Chrys understood why.

Mostly, as she hung out with them, they were surprised that she cared about Orpheus in such a way. It was a thing for them as they'd thought through the years that Orpheus wouldn't find anyone because he had been plump, lazy, and outspoken.

Now, though, Chrys saw a hard worker, a listener, and a strongly built man.

Chrys couldn't really remember most of her day with the four because they weren't vastly important for her to talk to. All she thought about was Orpheus… and Riana, they were going to have her funeral. She didn't know why, though, she didn't feel as though Riana was really dead.


	17. Chapter 17

Riana… the mere thought of her made her suddenly believe she was hearing her voice and Orpheus' calling "Chrys! Chrys!"

They were…

She turned around, and there Riana and Orpheus were running toward her, Riana with a little difficulty because she now had a limp in both legs. But, to Chrys' delight, that was not going to dampen Riana's spirit.

Chrys ran toward them and caught Riana in a hug, crying. "I thought you were dead!"

"Not now, Chrys, I'll _choose_ when I die," Riana said with a chuckle, "No sword will cut me down to death for a while."

She was allowed to leave the quad to be with Riana and Orpheus, of which both were surprised with her.

"Why don't you want to hang out with them?" Orpheus asked.

"I'd rather hang around with you two. You're my closest friends." Chrys said, hugging Riana again. She really thought she was dead.

The next time Chrys saw Dustfinger, he was walking around the castle alone. She, Orpheus, and Riana were able to stay in the castle until one or all of them found a job so that they could get the money for a home.

Riana, at that time, was being interviewed for becoming a guard of the gates. Chrys knew she'd do well there.

Chrys caught up with Dustfinger and said, "So… Riana is still alive…"

He gave a crooked smile.

"Why did you say she'd died?"

"Potentially because – well – I thought she did die. Sorry to have given you the scare, I thought sure she was."

"I'm very glad she isn't."

"If you had to choose," Dustfinger said carefully, "You know, between Orpheus and Riana, whom would you want to keep alive?"

"What sort of situation would I be in where I'd have to do that? I'm not planning on getting in to any sort of danger, even after only being captured by you and locked into a tower all alone." Chrys said.

Dustfinger laughed, "Well, we all have our share of what we can and cannot handle."

"Honestly," Chrys said seriously, "Asking me to choose between them is like asking you to choose between Brianna and Roxane… or between Brianna and Farid…"

He stopped smiling and was silent a moment, "Is it really? ... You really care for them…"

"I do." Chrys said, "I really do."

"And it looks like Orpheus is coming on over here…" Dustfinger said, looking down the hallway to a running Orpheus.

Looking at Dustfinger, he looked about ready to walk away, but Chrys had stopped.

"You still don't trust him…" she observed.

"No… we all trust you, me mostly, and we're sure you can keep him in line. But, no one wants to ever come in to an encounter with him again. They're afraid."

She sighed, "Then I guess we can part here, I'll meet up with him and you can go."

He nodded and went on away.

Orpheus reached her soon after and said, "Dustfinger didn't want to stay?"

"No, apparently not," Chrys said.

He laughed, "Don't worry, I know no one trusts me…and it's good he left…"

"For what reason?" Chrys asked with a laugh.

"This," he said, bringing his face down to hers and kissing her lips. He brought his arms around her, so as to keep her close, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

It was… sensational… something new for Chrys that she enjoyed a lot, especially with Orpheus.


	18. Chapter 18

A few weeks later, Chrys realized at a sudden moment, _where was Inkheart_? When she asked Orpheus, he didn't know either, so Chrys went to the castle to ask.

Dustfinger was there, which she thanked her lucky stars for as he was the only person she could easily ask. When she did, he said they left it back at the cave, for the good of the characters of Ombra. They _couldn't_ know that their whole world was just a storybook.

Chrys could live with that.

Many years later she looks back on that and it happy for how everything turned out, how everything went.

Soon after coming into Ombra, Chrys and Violante went into working on building a library for the citizens. Though most didn't know how to read, they also built a program within the library for those who wanted to learn to be taught by either Violante or Chrys.

Orpheus spent time behind the scenes of the library with all the paperwork and the lists of people who checked out books and when they had to return them.

Chrys and Orpheus had a child after a couple years, a baby girl, who would, they'd find, have fond feelings for the young son of the Bluejay.

People started trusting Orpheus, and he was indeed a changed man. He mostly gave thanks to Riana and the strange girl, Chrysalis.


End file.
